


The Show Must Go On

by Lilyliegh



Series: Arc-V Rarepair Week 2017 [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: M/M, Romance, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-28 07:39:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11413284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilyliegh/pseuds/Lilyliegh
Summary: Yuuya, aspiring actor, lives one floor below Dennis Mackfield, prestigious actor and vocalist, and he wouldn't trade it for anything. After all, waking up and falling asleep to the voice of an angel is a dream come true ... Now if only Yuuya could meet Dennis instead of just singing along with him.





	The Show Must Go On

**Author's Note:**

> for arc-v rarepair week - day 01: applause  
> ... there's no applause, but there is entertainment, so close enough ^^

The person above Yuuya’s apartment can _sing._ His voice is powerful, gusting through the open window and bursting through the house. Each note is sharp in the warm air, cutting through the silence around the building. The voice sounds like it belongs to a choir of people, not one person singing to themself round their apartment.

Yuuya knows it’s one person though. When he first heard the voice, it had been within the first week he moved into his apartment. Fresh out of university with a retail job until he could find something better, that melodious voice was his alarm clock before his shifts. He soon found that the voice came from the apartment above his; though he hadn’t seen the person, he already knew that he needed to meet them. It seemed strange to stalk out that person specifically to hear their voice, so Yuuya planned to run into them around the building.

The following week, he met them. They crossed paths in the lobby, eyes connecting. The vocalist was a bit older than him, maybe three years at most, with wavy orange hair and bright blue eyes. He introduced himself as Dennis Mackfield and bowed so low that Yuuya jumped back in shock. He’d never been greeted so formally.

Dennis then proceeded to play language tricks on him until Yuuya’s tongue was tied and his ears were burning. Dennis bid him farewell with a bow and a wink.

Yuuya hasn’t seen him since. Their schedules never seem to match up, and while Yuuya knows _exactly_ where Dennis lives, Dennis doesn't know much about him. The conversation in the lobby had been particularly one-sided, and Yuuya regrets not telling Dennis where he lives. They could’ve sparked a conversation, a slight friendship even. Now though, Yuuya worries how strange it would be for Dennis to find out that he listens to his melodies every morning.

But at the same time Yuuya doesn’t want to startle Dennis by admitting he listens to him sing. In fact, he’s quite happy to just sit in his living room with the patio door open and listen to Dennis. Perhaps talking to Dennis would stop the magic, maybe even make him become embarrassed of people listening to him. Yuuya can’t imagine Dennis ever being embarrassed, but he’s not going to take chances when the voice of an angel is on the line.

So Yuuya doesn’t do anything. He listens to the voice when he wakes up in the morning and when he goes to bed. He tries to pay attention to the melody and words, and he later looks up with lyrics on the internet.

_A musical._ Dennis Mackfield is an actor for a small theater troupe performing in Maiami this month. From the songs Dennis has been singing, he’s cast as the lead male actor, a dashing young man following the dreams of his father to become a world-renowned entertainer. That night, Yuuya listens to the entire soundtrack and watches live recordings from other performances. It’s an upbeat musical with a happy ending; the protagonist’s story is relevant to Yuuya, who once wanted to follow in the footsteps of his own father.

Yuuya can only imagine how bright Dennis is on the stage. Dennis is already a born entertainer.

_I wonder if I could go see his play,_ thinks Yuuya. He blushes crimson. Of course he can’t; he works and he needs to save his money for rent and student loans. Besides, if Dennis saw him at the theatre he might recognise him, and then Yuuya would have to explain how he listened to Dennis every day and researched him and then found his troupe. It would be a huge, embarrassing mess, and as much as Yuuya likes hearing Dennis’ voice, he can’t bring himself to go.

Yuuya storms off to his bed and throws himself down on the sheets. His apartment is quite lonely; he lived with his parents until university, and then moved into dorms with Yuugo while he was studying. This is the first time he’s truly been by himself. It’s too quiet in this house, and despite it being a meagre one-bedroom apartment, it still feels too big for just him. More than once Yuuya has tried to finds ways to fill up the space, either by buying furniture or playing music, or just talking aloud.

His eyes roll closed when he hears Dennis’ voice. Dennis doesn’t take up space: when he sings, his words clean out the lonely clutter in the apartment, filling the rooms with peaceful energy. When Dennis sings, Yuuya sleeps soundly in his bed. He falls asleep to a ballad from the musical, a song about hope and promises and smiles.

In his dreams, Yuuya imagines standing on a stage before a clapping and cheering audience. He imagines swinging from trapezes and dancing on a stage alongside a partner, with a group, wrapped up in a hopeful reality buzzing with cheery music. Such a reality sounds too good to be true, but Yuuya will keep dreaming.

He wakes up with the tune still on the tip of his tongue, eyes fluttering against the warm sunshine that streams through the open window. As embarrassing as it sounds, Yuuya knows that Dennis sleeps in later than him, and thus he won’t hear the music for several hours. However, the silence of the apartment seems to swallow him whole; to combat it, Yuuya taps his feet to the beat of the song as he pads to the kitchen. He keeps up the rhythm, no matter how awkward it seems, when he fries eggs and stirfrys vegetables for breakfast.

He doesn’t know the words though. Those are at the edge of his memory no matter how hard he tries to pull them back, and he has to replay the song several times to even begin to hear the lyrics. The words are fast, jumping up and down with the varying pitch of the singer. Furthermore, the words _dance,_ melding together into a melody that weaves the similar syllables together. At times, it sounds like the song doesn’t even _have_ words, just beautiful vocals that warm Yuuya’s heart.

Despite this, Yuuya wants to practice the song. He prints out the lyrics and tapes them to his kitchen cupboard, and promises to himself that he’ll start singing. After eating breakfast, he tries it. The lyrics are fast, jumping along with a jaunty beat. It’s going to take some practice before Yuuya can sing.

He washes dishes while singing too, sometimes skipping to easier songs from the musical. Dennis often sings these too, though at precisely eleven am Yuuya hears him break into song and practice his solo, the same one Yuuya hopes to practice. For a moment, Yuuya just listens. Dennis’ pitch is confident as he hits each note to the beat of the mp3 song. Yuuya can imagine him dancing round his apartment to his music, breaking into song much in the same way Yuuya does, and –

Yuuya is humming. Not outright singing, that would put some colour to his cheeks, but humming along to Dennis’ voice. Dennis shouldn’t be able to hear Yuuya below him, but Yuuya stops at once and bites his lips. _Had_ Dennis heard him? And if he did, did he like Yuuya’s singing? He’s taken theatre classes and has been praised for his vocals. He’s not the worst thing Dennis could hear …

Now Yuuya’s cheeks are red. He hurries back to his room and throws on his work uniform. He has places to be and money to make, and the biggest thing on his mind should not be his neighbour upstairs singing acapella.

* * *

 However, Yuuya is curious.

Curious about Dennis.

Curious about singing.

And curious about Dennis’ singing.

The play is in two weeks, so Dennis’ singing has become more frequent. On top of practicing in the morning and evening, he now practices before he goes to bed. There’s a song he sings, a lullaby of sorts, that is so quiet Yuuya has to strain his ears to listen to. Yuuya sits out on his porch and waits for it because if he was anywhere else in the house he’d miss it. He wouldn’t miss Dennis’ voice for the world. Hearing Dennis sing has become part of his day.

Dennis’ practicing has become so frequent that when Yuuya thinks of the lyrics he imagines Dennis’ voice. He imagines the orange-haired, exuberant tenant above him belting out songs, dressed in ostentatious clothing, sparkling on a lit stage. Dennis belongs on the stage among the stars.

And since Dennis’ singing becomes more frequent – and because Yuuya listens to the musical numbers whenever he can – he learns the lyrics. Soon he is singing along softly to Dennis’ majestic voice. He doesn’t sing loud enough that Dennis will hear him, but in Yuuya’s apartment he hears the melody of his own voice. It’s soothing. It fills the empty spaces of the apartment and warms him from the inside up.

The more Dennis sings, the happier Yuuya feels. At night, he lies among the stars and whispers the lyrics to the lullaby before falling asleep. During the day, he opens the windows so he can sing while he cooks. He misses Dennis’ voice when he’s at work, so one time he records Dennis.  He stands at his balcony with his phone up towards the apartment above; he can hear Dennis’ voice anywhere in his apartment during the day, but Yuuya wants the best quality.

The track he records is one of the main numbers, a snappy, jazzy song about the main character taking the stage and becoming his own person. Meant to inspire the audience to discover who they truly are, it’s such a peppy song that Yuuya has to bite down on his tongue to stop himself from singing along. Dennis really is a motivating guy.

It’s this song that Yuuya brings to work. He works at a local grocery store, not where he expected to be coming out of university, but where he needed to be considering his student loans started coming in and he didn’t have to money to pay those off and try to look for a better job. It’s a temporary fix and Yuuya makes the most of the money.

The best thing about his work is his co-worker, Yuzu. Like him, she came right out of university and right into retail work after realising that the job market anywhere in the dimensional cities _sucks._ The two have made their unbearable work bearable.

In the break room, Yuzu asks him, “What are you listening to? You’ve brought your headphones every day this week.”

Yuuya holds up his phone for her to see.

Yuzu only frowns. “That’s not a song …”

“It’s a recording. Here, listen.” He holds out a headphone for her; she takes it and pops it in her ears, and Yuuya restarts the song. As they listen, he keeps an eye on Yuzu’s expression. She looks curious at first, and then a slow smile spreads across her face. Yuzu likes musicals too; she probably knows what the musical is from just by listening to one song. If she knows that though, she must know that this isn’t the broadway version, and that this isn’t from a musical Yuuya’s seen –

“Where did you hear this?”

Yuuya’s cheeks grow red. “Well there’s this guy who lives above me –”

“An actor?”

Yuuya nods “And he’s practicing for an upcoming play –”

“Here?”

This time, Yuuya chuckles. “I’m getting to that part of the story, Yuzu.”

Now it’s her turn to blush.

“I was saying that I think he’s performing here. There’s a play at the Maiami Theatre next week that’s showing this play. He’s the main actor for it. And, well … it’s not like you can’t listen to him when he’s practicing his lines with his balcony door wide open. Mine’s open too, and the sound just seems to filter in.”

Yuzu raises an eyebrow. “His voice sounded that clear when you were inside your house?”

“Well not that time,” Yuuya says. “That time … I was standing on the balcony. But it’s not like you can’t unhear this. You can hear it from the living room, and it’s like he _wants_ the world to hear him. The least I can do is give him an audience.”

With a mischievous smile, Yuzu leans further across the table. “And does he know you are giving him an audience?”

Yuuya shakes his head, looking away. To meet Dennis Mackfield, who barely knows him and probably wouldn’t have much interest in him ...

A slap on his shoulder jolts him awake. Yuzu keeps her hand on him though, proceeding to shake him until he’s glowering at her. “You should go introduce yourself, Yuuya! You sound like you want to get to know him, and he might want to get to know you too. You never know until you’re knocking down his door and asking to hear him sing for you.”

“He’s not singing for me,” Yuuya says, “and how am I supposed to introduce myself? It’s not like we’re neighbours; he lives above me, and we rarely cross paths. Do I tell him I’ve been listening to him sing in the evenings and hope that doesn’t come off as creepy?”

“I would.”

“Yuzu!”

She’s back over the table again, blue eyes glimmering. “How is that creepy?” she asks. “He must know he has the window open, and I doubt he’ll be embarrassed about you hearing him sing. If he was, he should take more precautions, like keep the doors and windows closed. No, he’s not shy about his singing – you’ll be giving him a compliment!”

It still sounds awkward to Yuuya. Can he really just walk up to Dennis’ front door and ask to come in? Or should be try to invite Dennis out for coffee one afternoon? Then he wouldn’t be able to hear Dennis sing, and that might make it awkward.

His hands wrap around the thick, green stands of his hair and he _tugs._ There is so much to think about that Yuuya, who normally loves making friends, feels sick at the thought. Is it because Dennis is different? Is it because Yuuya knows a not-secret secret about Dennis, which sounds as inane as it is. Is it because deep down Yuuya wants to know more about Dennis, not through dueling but through talking? So many of Yuuya’s friends he’s met on the dueling circuit when he was a teenager.

“Making friends has never bothered you before,” Yuzu comments. “What’s different about him?”

“I don’t know.”

She corrects him at once: “You do; you’re just embarrassed by it.”

He groans. Yuzu is perceptive as ever, but she’s tactful with her words.

“If you really want to meet Dennis, do what feels right. You’ve become friends with so many people – is Dennis really that different?”

No, but the fluttering in Yuuya’s stomach never appeared when he met Yuzu or Sora. Dueling made making friends seem effortless, but now Yuuya has to make friends with Dennis the normal way. The only thing that keeps him from shutting this conversation down is that, deep down, Yuuya really does want to befriend Dennis. He’s just got to gather up the courage and take a step forward.

“I’ll say hi to him tomorrow,” Yuuya agrees, steeling his vision. “I’ll invite him out for coffee so that he doesn’t feel awkward by me going into his flat, and we’ll get talking about acting.”

Yuzu claps him on the shoulder, smiling brightly. “That’s the Yuuya I know!”

Yuuya’s own smile is much more timid. _If only it could be that easy,_ he thinks to himself.

When his shift is done, he packs up his belongings and begins the trip back home. Yuzu sends him well wishes once more, suggesting several coffee shops nearby that do latte art and serve fancy treats, and are altogether way too chic places for Yuuya to take one friend that he’s never met before. Then again, Yuuya wonders if maybe he should go all-out with this or else Dennis will think he is some cheap, stingy friend.

No matter what Yuuya thinks, the sick feeling in his stomach never leaves. He takes the stairs instead of the elevator just so he can get some excess energy out, and he nearly walks up to the floor above his in his confusion. Even though it’s unlikely Dennis would meet him there, Yuuya still rushes back down the stairs and onto his proper apartment floor. When he tries to stick his key in his apartment door, his hands shake so badly that he it takes him several tries to let himself in.

There’s music in his apartment.

Even with his window closed, Yuuya can already hear Dennis’ singing throughout the flat. Yuuya flicks the lights on and steps into the warmly decorated room. The anxious feelings slip off him as he crosses the flat and slides open the balcony door. For a moment, he hesitates in the doorway, eyes closing as Dennis’ voice drops to a lower octave. He must’ve gone to a prestigious acting school, maybe the University of Academia, to have such an angelic voice.

Then Yuuya steps out onto the balcony, body moving of its own will. He settles down on one of his two porch chairs. They’re made of waterproof material that isn’t as soft as it is durable, and for a second his mind is drawn back when his legs stick to the seat coverings. Then he scooches back in the chair and closes his eyes once more. Dennis’ singing draws pictures in his mind.

He know the song. He and Yuzu had listened to it after he promised to talk to Dennis tomorrow. It’s a cheery ballad between the protagonist and deuteragonist, meant to inspire friendship and camaraderie between the two characters. Dennis has memorised his fellow actor’s parts too, and he sings them with such confidence that Yuuya’s lips quiver. He too knows the accompanying parts …

Softly, Yuuya whispers them under his breath. His voice is stolen by the wind, barely audible over Dennis’ strong vocals and the music’s jazzy tunes. Yuuya can hear his own voice though. He imagines standing on a stage alongside Dennis, tho bachelors sweeping the crowds with their voices and smiles.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Yuuya belts out the key phrase of the deuteragonist’s song.

“The show must go on!” Dennis finishes.

There’s a scuffle above him; Yuuya’s eyes are still closed, his head rocking from side to side with the closing notes of the music.

“Hey there.”

His eyes flick open. Dennis is peeking _over the balcony,_ dimpled cheeks and crinkled eyes. Yuuya has to wonder just _how_ Dennis isn’t falling over the railings, but he has but a moment to think before this entire comedic situations clicks in his brain, and suddenly Yuuya is wheeling backwards in his chair with a cry. “Ah, sorry! Are you OK there?”

“Perfectly fine,” Dennis quips. “After all, you’re the one that just shouted. Are _you_ all right?”

“Just peachy,” Yuuya squeaks. He clears his throat. “Sakaki Yuuya, p-pleased to meet you.” Yuuya wonders if now would be a good time to invite Dennis out to coffee seeing as his neighbour looks far too content to hang off his balcony.

“Dennis Mackfield – er, Mackfield Dennis, I guess you’d say. Exchange student from America.” He laughs, a soft sound. “I’d give you my hand, but that might lead to some unfortunate circumstances.” He laughs again. The more Yuuya hears Dennis talk and laugh, the more Yuuya wants to be with him. Dennis’ words are breezy and light; Yuuya feels himself slipping back into a comfortable sitting position, looking up at the strange man hanging from the balcony above his.

“Well,” Yuuya says, “we could always go somewhere.” A blush spreads across his cheeks. “Together.” He’s as red as a tomato now.

“A good idea!” Dennis tells him. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be at your door!” And before Yuuya has a chance to tell Dennis ‘yes’, or to make sure Dennis knows which apartment room is his, he’s gone with a flash. Yuuya looks up at Dennis’ balcony for a moment before realisations dawns on him.

He and Dennis are going out.

He and a famous actor are going somewhere together, and he’s still sitting on his balcony in his work clothes, looking flustered but not hot. His feet scurry on the pavement as he rushes back into the apartment. In a whirlwind, he cleans up his face and fixes his hair; finds the first pair of classy clothes that he owns and slips them on. He’s going to be underdressed compared to Dennis, who, despite Yuuya only meeting once, was wearing a chic suit when they met in the lobby for the first time.

Yuuya is still working at his messy hair when there is a knock on his door. He gives himself one more look in the mirror. His goggles are still tangled in his hair, resting atop his head, and he doesn’t have time to take them out. Hopefully Dennis will find it quirky.

Yuuya opens the door.

Dennis is quirky. His neighbour brings a lot of words to Yuuya’s mind, but none of them make it to his lips. Bright colours clash with extravagant patterns and combine with aerodynamic shapes. What should be a simple dress shirt and slacks outfit is instead re-imagined as a work of art: pants that flare out to sweep the floor; a dress shirt that has two different coloured sleeves, one appearing ripped off from another shirt. The outfit is completed with a top hat fastened with a large, red feather.

Yuuya is speechless.

“You look good,” Dennis says. “I was thinking we could check out this little cafe down the street from here, La Belle Patisserie. I’ve heard they have good scones and croissants here, and I wouldn’t mind the treat before my big performance.” He pauses, a slow smile spreading over his face. “Did you know I’m an actor?”

Yuuya nods.

“I’m famous, aren’t I?” He adjusts the bowtie around his neck, and then holds an arm out to Yuuya. At first, Yuuya isn’t sure what he’s meant to do … and then he does and his cheeks are growing red.

If Dennis can sense his embarrassment, he doesn’t comment on it. “Come along. I’ll tell you about my work on the walk over, and maybe by the time we get there you’ll be able to tell me about yourself.”

Dennis leads him out of his apartment and down the stairs. They walk through the lobby, faces turning towards Dennis. He makes quite the appearance; Yuuya feels dressed down in what he thought was a rather classy outfit. Dennis’ outfit blows his out of the water.

On the walk across, Yuuya has but a moment to speak; Dennis wasn’t joking when he said that Yuuya might have to tell him his life story while at the cafe. Dennis tells him about his work at the theatre and about his upcoming plays. He explains his role and how he’s been practicing hard to memorise his lines. When he’s done talking about that, he moves on to describing his earlier life in college and when he was fresh out of school. Unlike Yuuya who couldn’t find employment out of university, luck was on Dennis’ side and he got a part-time acting job right away. From there, his career moved towards signing with a troupe and becoming a regular broadway actor.

When Yuuya does get a word in, it’s to say, “But you said you’re from America …”

“Born in America, and came here after high school. You can hear my accent, can’t you?”

Maybe that’s why Yuuya finds his voice so lulling. Dennis’ Japanese is full of Engrish. He melds the languages together to create new words like ‘egao-ing’. He laughs when Yuuya tries to mimic him, and the words don’t sound quite the same.

When they get to the cafe, Dennis holds the door open for him with a wink. The little cafe is decorated like a traditional French bakery, only there is more pink than Yuuya can imagine. There are bows and ribbons hanging from the door, and inside the white shelves and rose walls make his face heat up. _This_ is where Dennis wanted to go? Yuuya likes cutesy cafes, but the only thing missing from this place are the maids.

Dennis pulls him forward to stand in front of the shelves. There are all sorts of fluffy desserts, written in French, English, and Japanese. This seems like the kind of place Sora would want to go to; his friend would even be able to tell him what sweets are the best.

An eye sneaks a glance at him. “Not sure what to pick?” Dennis says.

“They all look delicious,” Yuuya says. “Honestly, I’m stumped.”

“Hm … well, let’s each pick out something different and we can split both. That way we get to try two new things!”

Split … a treat? The butterflies in Yuuya’s stomach threaten to jump up his throat. He’s just met Dennis and his new friend is already suggesting they share food and meet up! Yes, Yuuya wants this, but no way does he feel ready.

He laughs it off though, hoping his nervousness doesn’t show through. He does like being with Dennis …

A rolled crepe catches his eye, filled with whipping cream and drizzled with strawberry sauce. There is a dusting of powdered sugar over it too. Yuuya points to it and tells Dennis, “I’ll buy this one.”

Dennis points to thick, heavy piece of chocolate cake. “Fudge brownie,” he says. “I used to eat them all the time as a child.” Rising up, he proceeds to pay for his treat, then carries it over to a little table looking past the sidewalk and towards a quaint garden. It isn’t much since they’re in the heart of Maiami City, but it’s enough of a view that, when Yuuya settles down with his treat, he feels at peace

Carefully, Dennis splits his treat and Yuuya splits his, and they set half of their chosen desserts on each others’ plates. Yuuya eagerly digs into his, humming at the sweet, cakey flavours. On rushed mornings in university he would often buy muffins at the cafe on campus, but this crepe is far more heavenly. The brownie is equally scrumptious, thick and rich.

Dennis licks a bit of whipped cream from his fork and turns his body a bit so that he can look at Yuuya. It takes a moment for him to say what’s on his mind, but when he does he speaks so assuredly at Yuuya slips off his chair and has but a second to catch himself from tumbling to the floor.

“You sing, don’t you?”

“I … do,” Yuuya squeaks. He clears his throat. “You too?”

“You’ve obviously heard me before,” Dennis says, “and I suspect today was not the first time you sung along with me.” He takes a bite of his brownie and hms to himself. “In fact, I know it.”

Yuuya’s cheeks are burning. Dennis has known all this time, and only know has he thought to tell Yuuya? Does that mean all this time Dennis has just sung _with_ Yuuya, like a duet where both of them know all the lines? What does that make Yuuya?

“I like your music,” Yuuya says. “I like your voice too.”

Dennis leans closer, a smile tucked in the corner of his mouth. His cheeks are still dimpled, eyes sparkling in the soft lights of the patisserie. “I like your voice too. Sometimes I wait until I know you’re home and you open your balcony door before I start singing … sometimes I already know when you’ll be home, and I welcome you back with a song.”

Oh. Yuuya had thought he was the one who had memorised Dennis’ practicing schedule, but it appears Dennis had been keeping track of him too.

Oh.

“That’s very kind of you,” Yuuya says.

“You’re an actor yourself, aren’t you?”

Yuuya blinks. “I am.”

Dennis senses his confusion. “Your neighbour downstairs told me … Gongenzaka-san, wasn’t it?” He finishes off the last bite of his desserts, and with his napkin he wipes clean his pink lips. “Sakaki-kun, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Yuuya’s voice feels so small; the butterflies are climbing up his throat. He giggles to keep them down, and Dennis giggles in return. Does he know how nervous Yuuya is?

From within his pants pocket he pulls out a folded piece of paper, not much bigger than a trading card or a movie ticket  …

Oh.

It’s a theatre ticket.

Dennis stands and brushes a few crumbs off his dress shirt and trousers. Straightening his top hat, he inclines his head towards Yuuya. “I want you to see me on the stage, Sakaki-kun. Can you sing with me, please? I’d love to hear your voice too.”

He chuckles. “And, when the show is done, I’ll introduce you to my cast and manager. I think he’d like to meet someone like you, especially if you had the courage to meet someone like me.” Before Yuuya can say anything, Dennis taps a hand on the star of his goggles firmly set atop his head. “Cute. Toodles!”

The doors swing open, swing closed, and Dennis Mackfield is gone. Yuuya hesitates to say anything; through the wide bay windows Yuuya doesn’t see Dennis cross the street, so he can only assume he went the opposite way and back to the apartment – back to his home one floor above Yuuya’s. The thought is dizzying. Yuuya can see Dennis more and more, run into him at the elevator or in the lobby; on his balcony, Dennis could peep down to greet him.

Yuuya would like it.

He flips the ticket around. Scrawled across the top are the famous words of the play: _Ladies and gentlemen! The show must go on!_


End file.
